in

Mark your calendar: Remote’s webinar on “How to pay globally distributed contractors” is coming soon 🚀

Are you ready for the future of work? A leader’s guide

Share this email

ESSENTIALS FOR LEADERS AND THOSE THEY LEAD

Brought to you by Liz Hilton Segel, chief client officer and managing partner, global industry practices, & Homayoun Hatami, managing partner, global client capabilities

As we return to in-person, hybrid, or remote work in the new year, we can’t help but wonder: What might 2024 hold for how we live and work? How might generative AI (gen AI), digitization, and the energy transition—among the most important issues we covered in 2023—continue changing the nature of work itself? In this issue, we consider the jobs of the future and how leaders can keep up with a fast-evolving labor market through fresh approaches to hiring and training.

AN IDEA

An image linking to the web page “Generative AI and the future of work in America” on McKinsey.com.

Mind the (skill) gap

Disrupted, resilient, evolving. Three seemingly contradictory words that describe the US labor market’s recent past and likely future. During the pandemic, many American workers not only changed jobs in droves but also moved into brand-new careers. Approximately 8.6 million occupational shifts took place between 2019 and 2022, according to McKinsey senior partners Kweilin Ellingrud, Olivia White, and colleagues. Their analysis predicts another 12 million shifts through 2030, thanks to automation (including gen AI), federal investment, and structural trends. With such powerful forces at play, what’s a leader to do to prepare for the future of work? Well, a lot. Embracing gen AI tools as a way of enhancing work—not destroying it—could mean big gains in productivity for businesses, as long as clear guidelines and guardrails are in place. Meanwhile, innovative approaches to hiring (for example, seeking high-potential people and then training them on the job) could pay major dividends and encourage the recruitment of more diverse candidates.

A BIG NUMBER

60–70

That’s the percentage of time employees spend on work activities that could be automated, according to McKinsey’s Eric Hazan, Alex Singla, Kate Smaje, Alex Sukharevsky, Lareina Yee, Rodney Zemmel, and colleagues. With the advent of gen AI, the McKinsey Global Institute revised an earlier estimate of automation’s effects and noted a shift in the types of work that could be most affected. “The acceleration in the potential for technical automation is largely due to gen AI’s increased ability to understand natural language,” the authors say. “Thus, gen AI has more impact on knowledge work associated with occupations that have higher wages and educational requirements than on other types of work.”

A QUOTE

“By building inclusive and supportive workplace cultures where diverse leaders and allies are truly heard, companies can chart a path toward impact beyond financial performance.”

That’s from senior partners Celia Huber, María del Mar Martínez Márquez, Sara Prince, and coauthors in McKinsey’s fourth report on the business case for diversity—which confirms that the future of work must be inclusive. The relationship between gender and ethnic diversity on leadership teams and superior financial performance continues to grow, and there’s also a link between diversity at the top and diversity across the company. Also growing: the call for organizations to consider their impact on all stakeholders, including employees. To achieve sustainable, inclusive growth, the authors describe five areas where companies can create holistic impact: financial and operational, capabilities, health and workforce, environmental, and social.

A SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

An image linking to the web page “Author Talks: Tsedal Neeley on why remote work is here to stay—and how to get it right” on McKinsey.com.

“Holding on to what was before is how people are going to get in trouble.” So says Harvard Business School professor Tsedal Neeley in a discussion about the pitfalls and best practices of remote work. Nearly four years after the pandemic transformed where so much work takes place, employee interest in virtual work endures—at least in the professions where it’s possible. Neeley urges leaders to accept that remote work is here to stay. “The thing to do now is think about how you will update your culture so people can thrive in a remote environment. We need to be forward thinking, embrace the things we love, change the things we don’t, and accept the fact that our cultures have changed forever.”

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT

An image linking to the web page “Young Global Leaders on Davos 2024” on McKinsey.com.

This week, global leaders and luminaries descend upon a Swiss resort town to grapple with the most pressing issues of the day. Ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, we spoke with some of WEF’s Young Global Leaders about the topics that warrant more attention there. A few note the intersection between climate action and inclusion. “Increasing the number of women managers by 1.0 percent can lead to a 0.5 percent decrease in carbon dioxide emissions,” says Fatoumata Bâ, founder and executive chair of Jango Capital. “Yet only 11 percent of private equity and venture capital allocators and 7 percent of investment recipients are women.” Another recurring theme is the pipeline of future leaders, or the lack thereof. “Despite our AI-driven era’s constant policy challenges, investment in developing skilled politicians is surprisingly low,” says Lisa Witter, cofounder and CEO of Apolitical Foundation. “We need to reevalute our backing for political talent, preparing politicians for today and beyond.”

Lead by looking ahead.

— Edited by Daniella Seiler, executive editor, Washington, DC

Follow our thinking

Share these insights

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to colleagues and friends so they can subscribe too. Was this issue forwarded to you? Sign up for it and sample our 40+ other free email subscriptions here.

This email contains information about McKinsey’s research, insights, services, or events. By opening our emails or clicking on links, you agree to our use of cookies and web tracking technology. For more information on how we use and protect your information, please review our privacy policy.

You received this email because you subscribed to the Leading Off newsletter.

Manage subscriptions | Unsubscribe

by "McKinsey Leading Off" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 04:36 - 15 Jan 2024

Archives

in

info@learn.odoo.com

The week in charts

Mark your calendar: Remote’s webinar on “How to pay globally distributed contractors” is coming soon 🚀

Are you ready for the future of work? A leader’s guide

Mind the (skill) gap

“By building inclusive and supportive workplace cultures where diverse leaders and allies are truly heard, companies can chart a path toward impact beyond financial performance.”

Archives

in

info@learn.odoo.com

The week in charts

Mark your calendar: Remote’s webinar on “How to pay globally distributed contractors” is coming soon 🚀

Are you ready for the future of work? A leader’s guide

Mind the (skill) gap

“By building inclusive and supportive workplace cultures where diverse leaders and allies are truly heard, companies can chart a path toward impact beyond financial performance.”﻿

“By building inclusive and supportive workplace cultures where diverse leaders and allies are truly heard, companies can chart a path toward impact beyond financial performance.”